The eighth grade is for Allison a special time. Into the pleasantly relaxed world of cotton dresses and dolls comes the foreign ingredient--boys. Not just game-playing, somewhat rough youngsters who might be one's brothers, but creatures of unfathomable mystery and allure. Allison's tentative struggle to "fit" herself into a perplexing new image of teen-age perfection, her exaggerated attempt at conformity, and her gradual realization that the better part of maturity is sympathy and the ability to give, make up the framework of this lively episodic text. As comfortably familiar as the corner soda fountain.
The eighth grade is for Allison a special time. Into the pleasantly relaxed world of cotton dresses and dolls comes the foreign ingredient--boys. Not just game-playing, somewhat rough youngsters who might be one's brothers, but creatures of unfathomable mystery and allure. Allison's tentative struggle to "fit" herself into a perplexing new image of teen-age perfection, her exaggerated attempt at conformity, and her gradual realization that the better part of maturity is sympathy and the ability to give, make up the framework of this lively episodic text. As comfortably familiar as the corner soda fountain.